Camp Evans hotel to be dedicated as WWII memorial

A ceremony will be held Aug. 13 at the Marconi Hotel in Camp Evans, Wall Township, to dedicate the site as a World War II Living Memorial. This month will mark the 60th year since the end of the bloody conflict.

Veterans are encouraged to attend to honor and stand for those veterans who cannot attend. The site will be dedicated to honor veterans and to contribute to science and history education.

Following the ceremony, the public will have an opportunity to tour portions of the Marconi Hotel and grounds to see the work in progress to preserve the site. On display will be dozens of World War II anniversary posters and artifacts provided by the Old Wall Historical Society. Also on display will be dozens of photos showing the key role that U.S. Army Signal Corps personnel and equipment from Fort Monmouth and Camp Evans played in winning the war.

Camp Evans holds an important place in the history of World War II. Historians have called World War II the “Radar War,” and labeled radar “the invention that saved democracy.” Now, the historic site will be dedicated as a memorial to honor those who helped win World War II with advanced electronics.

Fort Monmouth was the center of World War II communications development, and Camp Evans was its secret radar laboratory. Army officers, civilian engineers, scientists, draftsmen, carpenters, metal workers, quality testers, documentation writers, patent specialists and thousands of home-front veterans worked 10-12-hour days six days a week to make sure that Allied forces fielded the best radar and communications equipment possible.

Even though the Marconi Hotel was renovated many times for projects during the Korean, Vietnam and Cold wars, there are still vestiges preserved from its World War II service. To ensure that Nazi bombers could not see any light from the building to target it for bombing, a blackout system was installed in the building. It consisted of a main blackout control panel to shut off all lights and turn on recessed red lights in the halls and stairways, and black blinds for the windows.

In the hotel attic, work benches and specially shielded cages remain from the critical stages of the war, when engineers were working day and night to counter the Axis radio and radar equipment and every bit of work space was needed. There they tested and integrated top-secret electronic advances into allied equipment. The Army’s radar counter-measures group, now know as electronic warfare, can trace its roots to these benches and special cages.

Volunteers are working to complete the interior repainting and restore the building to its World War II configuration, and more help is needed. For more details on the event or volunteer opportunities, visit www.infoage.org or call (732) 280-3000.